Patriot

^^^ For a moment there, I thought you were going to say you were one of the FLDS runaways.

HeIncreasesMe

I hope this comment was made in jest..just as my original comment was made in Jest.

If not...

Please check yourself immediately. The comment was made in jest. And furthermore in Luke 19:40 it says that the multitude of disciples cried out blessing the Lord and the Pharisses rebuked them "And he (Jesus) answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out."

So if the bible says that rocks cry out if others will keep silent, and a lot of folks on this earth and sleeping right now regarding Christ (Keeping Silent), than I know that the materials that make up my bike will cry out and bless the name of the Lord.

So no one is lifting up a bike or worshipping man made materials. We don't have any Golden Calf type worship going on here.

Now if you weren't being serious please dismiss the above.

DataJunkie

lol

No compounds for us.

HeIncreasesMe

I would say you have me beat..but nope.

No, because I hold the Republicans moral agenda but I dont' vote Republican. Instead I get out into the community and teach abstinence and support folksgoing through what they call "identity issues regarding sexual prefrence". Soooo....I am strong supporter of a lot of issues liberal and conservative, but I keep my moral agenda out of politics mostly.

I ride a bike, I recycle, and I live in Oakland. lol

I win. Hahahahahaha! LOL! Beat that.

ax0n

Oh, the horror!

ftfy btw.

DataJunkie

First time first year?

charles vail

No worries here........it is a easy thing to do however.......to hold a material item above people or the Lord. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy my bicycles but I see a whole lot of materialism and focus on financial success going on in the church and it kind of makes me sick.

charles vail

Its interesting how our upbringings can affect our view of truth, life, etc. I had the opposite experience growing up and I was on the lookout for a genuine faith exampled in those that professed it.
Unfortunately it is a rare thing to witness, being that nobody is perfect. On the other hand, there were quite a few I witnessed who simply put on their 'church face' every Sunday and lived contrary to their professions. The bad thing was they wouldn't/couldn't admit it to themselves or anyone else.....ever. Seemed like a waste of time to me. Fortunately their weirdnesses didn't dissuade me from examining the basic message while ignoring some of the messengers!

DataJunkie

I don't really mind religion it is just the organized part that bugs me. That and the hypocrisy.
Being that I am agnostic it is perfectly possible that I may change as I age. It seems to me mine is more of a "eh? how can you prove this or that?" type of thing. Sort of a pendulum that I could possibly swing back into or further away from religion eventually. Anyhow....

jterribili

DJ and the rest of you that are either agnostic or have issues with organized religion, you could check out books and materials by Brian McLaren. I am mostly at the same place you all are (raised very Christian, and I still am a follower of Christ, but have HUGE issues with the organized church and everything associated with it- almost despise it actually - gotta keep myself in check from becoming a hateful, bitter person about it). I have heard about this guy for a while but never read his materials. I am about to start reading some of his books - seem they might help me out in my spiritual journey. Just thought I would pass along the info - again I cannot vouch for the content as I have never read any of his books...yet.

Brian's blog:
https://www.brianmclaren.net/

A book I want to read that deals with tough questions about God and faith: https://www.brianmclaren.net/archives...what.html#more

HeIncreasesMe

I see the same thing and it is the truth. I am a faithful tither in the church and giver outside of the church. I agree w/ your statement too. And I sure isn't made in response to anything I said in the post you quoted.

Some folks think that the church is going to be perfect and prestine when it is made up of imperfect people. And it makes sense that evil would seek out residence in a place where people are reaching for perfection.

Artkansas 

In other words, "If you want to find sinners, go to church."

Being a Unitarian/Taoist, the whole world's my church. Here's my pew.

ax0n

He who farts in church sits in his own pew.

BroadSTPhilly

A recumbent; Blasphemer!

HeIncreasesMe

I'll up you one. I am the church.

charles vail

Yea...sometimes our own mortality awareness, brought on by an accident or illness, is a catalyst for reconsideration of truth and our purpose in this life. Just went through that whole process personally and now with my ailing parents. Definitely causes me to think.

biocmp

I just read a really good book on faith and trying to understand a God that would create a world that spins out of control. And it has really changed the way I view things. It's a fictional work, but a great read indeed.

I grew up in church, turned away hardcore but kept going to church, then finally left completely. A combination of education in biology and unresolved questions caused me to lose faith altogether. I was given this book and now..... I believe I'm heading back to something that gives me peace. I'm tired of holding people accountable for my distorted views of the church and God, Himself.

Anyway, the book is titled The Shack

And, since I am on a new journey in spiritual life, I found a book by Thomas Merton, titled Seeds of Contemplation. It is really good, but I've only made it 3 chapters in.

I am most certainly a quasi-deep thinker, self-proclaimed deep thinking is cliche, but I'll risk the fallout of my words. The first book was not deep in it's presentation, but most certainly prods the reader to dig deeper inside themselves.

The second book is a bit deeper to me. Thomas Merton was catholic clergy who took off and lived with a group of trappist monks (aka Buddhists) and relates some of the things he learned while living there.
For those who are afraid of the organized religion/rules, he does not reference the wholiness of church or of Mary.

And I also have been hurt by the people "comprising" the church. It is a story that is all too common... but I most certainly relate.

TexasEdit

I am a Democrat Yankee former Catholic Southern Baptist Sunday School teacher living in East Texas.

I am a liberal newspaper editor working in a Republican rural town with one stop light where the annual Cornbread Festival is front page news and the mayor is the chamber of commerce secretary.

And I am a bicycle commuter in a community where a Ford F150 is considered a small vehicle and I have to yell at the buzzards to get out of the road so I can get past.

So how do I stack up?

noteon 

I'm an undeclared quasi-liberal Angeleno agnostic bike commuter who lives in New York, makes short films about God, and just got back from a non-proselytizing Franciscan retreat at a church in San Antonio run by a foulmouthed Texas Baptist preacher/blogger.

I took my Xootr Swift with me and got tacos.

JohnBrooking

Where's the chainguards? They're going to get grease all over those nice pants!

My family usually rides our bikes to church when we don't walk, but then it's only 4 blocks away. Every year I keep meaning to organize a Bike to Church Day to go along with Bike to Work Week in May, but I keep not getting around to it.

Here's a coupla interesting related links:

• De-motorize your soul
• The Annual Blessing of the Bikes in NYC
• First one this year in Portland, OR
• Ezekial 1:15-21, used in the NYC liturgy

TexasEdit

Beautiful ... I knew I felt a disturbance in the force in Texas

noteon 

This thread just got a shout-out at my blog:

https://www.journalscape.com/keithsny...8-07-02-21:30/

GTPowers

Just want to say I really have enjoyed this thread. Its been awhile since I've seen a mostly Christian thread handled maturely by the other non-Christian members of the forum.

I go to Moody Bible Inst. in downtown Chicago and have to ride a train out to West Chicago to get to our Church building. Its only a couple of miles on the bike but I love showing up in Knickers and Merino Wool in the middle of June (plus riding a fixed gear bike down a limestone MUP is a blast). People are always asking me why I'm wearing a "wool sweater" and riding a bike.

for a solid thread. Thanks BF.

-Powers

jefferee

Do you subscribe to Geez magazine?

On the thread at hand... my wife and I bike to church (10 km) whenever the weather suits (i.e., not raining and no snow on the ground). The recently-installed bike rack is filled to overflowing most Sunday mornings--that's about 10 bikes out of nearly 1000 people on a Sunday morning, but hey, it's a start (and many people live close enough to walk).

AmberRae

i ride my bike to church and just wear my regular clothes (jeans and a t) ... my church is rather informal when it comes to apparel... and i pretty much always wear regular clothes...

only it IS kind of embarassing when your pant leg is still half rolled up... and ppl stare at you wondering if your going to dive on stage and start rapping the book of psalms.